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Blythe has always been a crossover artist par excellence, effortlessly uniting couture and pop sensibilities, peppering reality with fantasy, futuristically anachronistic all the while.
So it’s not exactly unusual that for her fifth anniversary she announced her intention to add a new wrinkle to her repertoire, this time making the leap into the music world as our “Darling Diva”. A motley group of over 100 creatives from all across the globe offered Blythe their suggestions for her stage style, among them top fashion designers, makeup artists, and conceptual art bands to try to categorize just a few. Drawing stylistic inspiration from sources disparate as Mozart and Dolly Parton, the parade of designs marched down the Spiral Garden runway on June 23rd was – like all great divas– full of many good surprises.
Adding an extra dash of excitement to this year’s Fashion Show was one brand new institution – the Blythe Beauty Contest. An open call for entries solicited Blythe buffs to form teams to bring into being their personal visions of Blythe at her most beautiful. Nine teams were then selected as finalists from the initial pool of entries and given the opportunity to present their dolls in person at the Fifth Anniversary Event, just prior to the Fashion Show itself. During the show a final decision would be reached and one Grand Prix winner would be granted the opportunity for their design to be manufactured as a real Blythe doll edition! As honored and deserving as each of the finalists were to have come so far, their nervousness and anticipation was also palpable as they walked the runway with their dolls. All eyes were on them; a packed audience of Blythe fans as well as an esteemed panel of judges drank in the details of each design, forming their opinions on each. With the dolls fresh in their minds, the audience cast their votes for the design most deserving of the title “Miss Popularity” while the Blythe connoisseurs serving as judges marked scores that would decide the contest’s Grand Prix winner and runners-up. Votes would be tallied and titles awarded after the Darling Diva Fashion Extravaganza!
Familiar names and faces to most all Blythe lovers, creative producer Junko Wong and official photographer Gina Garan sat at the foot of the runway alongside other judges, flashing appreciative smiles at their favorite dolls. Esteemed makeup artist Saburo Watanabe sat beside them, perhaps making mental notes to try some of Blythe’s more outlandish makeup strategies at his next fashion shoot. Much loved modern kimono champion Mamechiyo must have been glad see several kimono-ed superstars on the runway this year. Allison Katzman, the original inventor and sculptor behind Blythe, meanwhile seemed very much in her element soaking up all the loving details lavished on her little girl Blythe at this the very first Fashion Show she’s been able to attend!
At the close of the fashion show, all of the Blythes were gently placed into display cases for another kind of show, as thousands of fans came to Spiral to see up close the newest Blythe masterpieces in exhibition. The exhibition continued for just one week but will travel to Venus Fort in Odaiba in August while a selection will be shown at the newly renovated KCP Fashion Building in Hong Kong in early October. It’s truly a must see experience we highly recommend. Go see it when it comes near you! |
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